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The Memory Librarian
- And Other Stories of Dirty Computer
- Narrated by: Janelle Monáe, Bahni Turpin
- Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
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The Memory Librarian
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Publisher's Summary
In The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer, singer-songwriter, actor, fashion icon, activist, and worldwide superstar Janelle Monáe brings to the written page the Afrofuturistic world of one of her critically acclaimed albums, exploring how different threads of liberation—queerness, race, gender plurality, and love—become tangled with future possibilities of memory and time in such a totalitarian landscape…and what the costs might be when trying to unravel and weave them into freedoms.
Whoever controls our memories controls the future.
Janelle Monáe and an incredible array of talented collaborating creators have written a collection of tales comprising the bold vision and powerful themes that have made Monáe such a compelling and celebrated storyteller. Dirty Computer introduced a world in which thoughts—as a means of self-conception—could be controlled or erased by a select few. And whether human, A.I., or other, your life and sentience was dictated by those who’d convinced themselves they had the right to decide your fate.
That was until Jane 57821 decided to remember and break free.
Expanding from that mythos, these stories fully explore what it’s like to live in such a totalitarian existence…and what it takes to get out of it. Building off the traditions of speculative writers such as Octavia Butler, Ted Chiang, Becky Chambers, and Nnedi Okorafor—and filled with the artistic genius and powerful themes that have made Monáe a worldwide icon in the first place—The Memory Librarian serves readers tales grounded in the human trials of identity expression, technology, and love, but also reaching through to the worlds of memory and time within, and the stakes and power that exists there.
From asexual and lesbian characters to non-binary and genderqueer individuals, The Memory Librarian features a diverse cast of characters that reflect the rich tapestry of human experience.
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
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What listeners say about The Memory Librarian
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Fraser Simons
- 2022-07-03
Excellent, well worth your time
In these short stories, many of which i think could be best called post-cyberpunk, a reaction to the sub-genre, predominantly queer Black folx navigate a fascist world that scrubs memories, co-opts artists physically, away from their families and loved ones. Within this bleak landscape are acts of resistance that follow from the identity of the characters. Rather than the typical bombastic and militant acts of violence cyberpunk is known for, here the struggle is situated in verisimilitude. I like this centering much better, since it takes tenets of punk and applies it to everyone who refuses to conform to the system. Navigating away from defaultism.
I think the stories that bookend the collection are the strongest, and contrast one another tonally. But even the quietest story is a bit brilliant. A space is found to stop time and the framing for the characters is the ability to reclaim how much extra currency they now have to level the playing field in society. Not many people about marginalization and privilege in these terms, but identities intersecting with poverty know that time really is one of the most predominate things that is taken. For example: People unable to get a bank card must line up at lunch to cash their cheque at a place that takes a cut of it from them to do so, cutting into their lunch hour because the bank won’t be open outside of their shift, or they can’t get there in time regardless. In this story it is about academic competitions, where the character has to do so much more work, and put in so much more time, to compete with others. There is a thought experiment within the thought experiment introduced as well.
Other stories are about the power of representation in stories fostering the core ability to dream, and therefor change the world; the system attempting to erase queer love and identity, and the damage of internalizing those notions. All of the stories are, perhaps, more quiet than I expected. But Dirty Computer was a loud story (literally), so it makes total sense for this collection to go to the places it does. Very enjoyable.
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